


A Bit Of Rest

by Hexlorde



Series: Fictober 2019 [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Established Relationship, Fictober 2019, Fluff, M/M, Mentions of Scout Jim, Picnics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-09 10:27:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20851928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hexlorde/pseuds/Hexlorde
Summary: Cullen's been overworking himself for far too long, and Dorian is willing to do quite a lot to get him to rest.





	A Bit Of Rest

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of the Fictober Day 1 prompt: "It will be fun, trust me." I want to give a big shout-out to everyone on the Herald's Rest Discord, and Cap in particular for making the guide for posting here!

Cullen groaned as he stared at the pages in front of him. He had been working for hours, and yet the stack of unread reports in front of him promised to keep him up for many hours more. With autumn setting in the troops needed to stock up on food and warm blankets while they could and the quartermaster was asking about what sort of uniforms they would need for the cooling weather. Cullen didn’t know why he was the one that everyone turned to when it came time to make decisions like that, especially since most of his life had been spent inside stone walls instead of patrolling out in the wilds, but nevertheless he was loath to complain about the workload.

The words on the page in front of him were swimming though, and even when he blinked and shook his head they stayed blurry. Just when he sighed and resigned himself to having to reread every paragraph until the meaning finally beat its way into his brain one of the doors creaked open.

“I’m afraid I’m a bit busy, so unless this is something important you should go,” he said without looking up. That usually worked to dissuade the lower level scouts and soldiers who were worrying over little things, and though normally he would have tried to keep his voice kind he couldn’t find the energy to care at the moment. It seemed like this time he wasn’t so lucky, as the door closed with whoever opened it still inside. He heard footsteps coming towards him, but he still startled when a hand landed on his furry mantle.

“My my my, if you’re snapping like that then what I have planned definitely counts. You’re about ready to take my head off.”

Cullen looked up, a blush already forming at the sound of his lover’s voice. Dorian was standing over him, a teasing smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. He was dressed properly for the Ferelden cold, Cullen noticed, with both shoulders covered and a scarf wrapped around his neck. “Oh, Dorian, I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

His stammering was cut off by Dorian letting out a delighted little laugh and shaking his head. “Oh Amatus, you’re adorable when you blush,” he said. Cullen stopped talking and just smiled sheepishly, one hand instinctively going up to rub the back of his neck.

He did protest when Dorian reached over and started pulling the report that he was reading away. “Hey! I’m still working,” he complained. Dorian just sighed and stared at him, then pointedly looked out the window. Cullen huffed and didn’t look behind him. “Yes yes, I’m well aware that it’s late. But I have work to do, and if I don’t do it now then I’m going to end up hounded by Scout Jim about the uniform designs in the morning.”

Dorian made a face at the mention of the nosy scout. “I keep offering to scare him away. You know that I would happily do it. It would be my pleasure,” he said. Cullen arched his eyebrow at him, and he sighed in defeat. “Alright, alright, I won’t use the legion of spirits that would gladly help us to scare off the low-level scout who has no real excuse for never giving you a moment’s rest. However, you do need a rest of some sort.”

Cullen sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing a hand across his eyes. “Dorian, you know that I can’t do that. I need-”

He was quickly interrupted. “What you need is to not work your way into an early grave. I will not have my lover become a hunched over old man before he’s at least sixty,” Dorian said in a firm tone. “Come on, we’re doing something that I think even your crude Ferelden tastes will appreciate.”

  
  


Cullen sighed as he realized that there was no way that he was getting out of this. He reluctantly stood up and shuffled the various unread reports into a pile for later, before following Dorian out onto the battlements. The sudden cold wind took his breath away for a bit, and he had to squint a bit as the light from the setting sun flooded his eyes. Maybe he had been in that office for too long if just stepping outside was enough to overload him, he mused.

There was no time to dawdle though, as Dorian was moving with purpose along the battlements. Cullen hurried to catch up, his breath coming in little puffs of steam in the rapidly cooling air. He wasn’t familiar with the route they were taking, and by the time that they reached one of the gates to the forest surrounding Skyhold he was starting to wonder what his lover was planning. “Dorian, where are we going? I really should be somewhere where Leliana and Josephine can reach me…”

Dorian stopped for a moment and turned around with a reassuring smile. “I highly doubt that the world will fall apart if you’re not there to work yourself to the bone Commander. Now come on; this will be fun, trust me.”

Cullen couldn’t help but relax a bit as he nodded and said “Well alright. Lead the way.” Dorian’s smile widened as he gleefully turned and started to head into the forest. Cullen followed close behind, slightly bemused at the mage’s uncharacteristic excitement at spending time outside. He was practically skipping, so happy that he was forgetting to keep up the posh act that he wore like armor around the visiting nobles. It was a nice look on him.

They traveled fairly deep into the forest until Cullen could barely make out the turrets and towers of Skyhold through the trees. The path they were taking was lit up with golden light that streamed through the changing leaves, giving everything a dream-like feel. Eventually, they came to a clearing, and Cullen felt his breath catch in his throat; there was a basket overflowing with food and a blanket spread out in the middle of the grass, and a bottle of wine along with two goblets waiting for them. Already he could smell freshly baked bread and warm stew, and if he wasn’t mistaken then there were some cookies peeking out from one side of the basket (hopefully they were sourced from somewhere other than Sera).

“Dorian…” he breathed, turning to face the other man. He found a fond smile, and the mage hesitated before leaning over for a gentle kiss. They ended up with their arms wrapped around each other, foreheads resting together as they stood in the forest. “Thank you,” Cullen finally said, his voice thick with emotion.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Dorian joked. “We don’t know if the food is any good. For all I know that stew could be loaded with turnips and too little salt.” He looked down at the ground, clearly trying to deflect from the tears in his eyes. It was a reminder that for all Cullen knew the other man had never had anyone thank him for any work that he had done, or even show appreciation for him being there, before the Inquisition.

“Well then, we’d better test it,” Cullen said, gesturing to the blanket. Dorian nodded and broke away from the embrace, turning and pulling out plates and bowls instead. They sat down to eat, and they found that the food tasted as good as it smelled. The stew was turnip free (something that Dorian loudly appreciated) and well seasoned, the bread was still soft and warm from the oven, and the cookies were definitely not one of Sera’s ‘experiments.’ There were even some apples at the bottom, crisp ones that crunched when they bit into them and sent streams of juice down their chins. Dorian huffed about that for a while, complaining that they were making a mess until Cullen had wordlessly reached over with a handkerchief and wiped the juice off himself. After that the mage had been quiet, occasionally looking over at Cullen and blushing.

By the time that they were done with the food the sun had set, and their little clearing was lit by mage lights as they sat huddled together and drank wine. They had moved from their normal seats across from each other and somehow ended up with their arms wrapped around each other and their legs tangled together, but Cullen couldn’t find it in himself to complain. He was more relaxed than he could remember being since he had been trapped in the Circle tower during the Blight.

“Dorian,” he mumbled, not lifting his head from where it rested on the mage’s shoulder. “Thank you. You were right in that this was a good idea.”

Dorian gave a sleepy chuckle as he said: “Does that mean that I can drag you away from your desk more during the day?”

“Maybe,” Cullen conceded, earning a surprised hum from the other man. “Maybe.”

They sat there in comfortable silence for hours, watching the night sky go by as they cuddled close together.


End file.
